Nov. 29, 2005
One might think that an abundance of early success might spoil the average student-athlete. Or that many student-athletes would love to have their names etched in the history books by the close of their collegiate careers. The operative word here would be average and by no means is Celeste Trahan an average student-athlete.
Just recently it was brought to her attention that the rebounding prowess she displayed during the 2004-2005 season had landed in the Official 2006 NCAA Women's Basketball Records Book. She now ranks fourth all-time in both rebounds (398 total) and rebounding average (13.7 per game) for performances by a freshman. She also captured the second and third best rebounding performances in the nation last year with her CIAA record breaking 28 rebounds in the 2005 CIAA Finals vs. Shaw University on March 5. That was her second rebounding showcase against the nationally ranked Lady Bears because exactly one month prior on February 5, she turned in the nation's third best overall performance with 24 boards. Out of the twelve individuals ranked for rebounding performances last season, she was one of only three freshmen and the only player to be listed twice.
Yet the diamond in the rough that she is (she holds an overall GPA of 3.3), one might wonder if after all the hoorah from her freshman campaign that the 6-1" Stockton, CA native may have quietly set individual goals of setting or shattering records regardless to what success her team may achieve. After all she has attained so much in her brief career. Yet she remains unfazed by it all.
"It's nice, it makes me feel good but I'm not going to jump for joy," says the soft spoken Trahan. At my raised eyebrows, she giggles and apologetically says "Don't get me wrong. I'm happy especially since there are so many who don't get this type of opportunity much less awards and stuff. But I'm not going to get too excited because I'm not satisfied."
Well what would it take to please one who is admittedly hard to satisfy? After all she garnered every accolade imaginable last year; CIAA Rookie of the Year, Rookie of the Week (seven times), All-CIAA, CIAA Player of the Week, 2005 CIAA All-Tournament Team, South Atlantic Region Second Team and the list goes on. Very calmly she responds, "I want our team to win. I want to win. I was shy when last season first started. I was trying to adjust to the level of the college game." She shrugs then adds, "Then I just relaxed and played ball."
Needless to say, last season Celeste took both the CIAA and the NCAA by storm. She led the nation in rebounding, ranked 35th in field goal percentage, 48th in blocked shots and 86th in scoring. In the CIAA she ranked in the top four in rebounding (1st), field goal percentage (2nd) and blocked shots (4th). The lowest she ranked in a CIAA category was in scoring at a mere 16.4 points per outing. Did I mention that she led her team in all but four statistical categories and led ECSU to only their second finals appearance in school history?
And she was relaxed?
According to second year head coach Tara Owens, Trahan like all the Lady Vikings, are a pleasure to coach. "It is amazing to me and incredibly impressive, how hard this team works. If something is not quite right it is like they will give all of themselves to make it better," says Owens.
Oh by the way, in the first two games of this season, Celeste collected double doubles in each, bringing her grand total to 21 in 31 games played. And all this at the beginning of just her sixth year playing basketball, period. That's right. The first time she played basketball was her freshman year in high school.
Hey maybe being relaxed and humble is a good thing. It has worked so far and as the saying goes "If it ain't broke..."
